Monday, 8 February 2016

Waiting For - no, not Godot - but: The Berlinale 2016

Dear You,

at the moment you could see me with "Thermacare provides patented heat relief for back, hip...and so on"; a nice hot cherry pit pillow on my stomach and one under my feet, after a deep warm-up of an infrarot lamp on my forehead and a nice, hot tea inside me.
"Oh, poor you - are you sick?" you might ask me caringly.
No, not yet.
But I feel like an icicle because I did something I would not have done for myself.
I promised an acquaitance (she stood herself in another queue in another part of Berlin) to go and manage to grab two Berlinale tickets for us. Easy-peasy, I thought - I will be there on time, at 9 o'clock in the morning (as my acquaintance had told me), and presto!
Hupp- haff, or: hahaha.
When I arrived I wondered, why very young people sat there - in a very long queue - on little camping chairs. Oh boy, was I naive!
The selling started at 10 - to arrive at 9 was only lax prudence, because The Initiated (most of the others in front of me), had arrived at 6 or 7 o'clock. In the morning! Only to get cinema tickets!!!
I would never... but well: I promised...and being Prussian, I stay to my word of honour. Ever.
So I stood.
2 long hours in the cold.
The young woman, sponsered by Audi, kindly served a non-alcoholic glogg - thank you, thank you!
Not being excessively shy, I had long conversations with two women in the queue, one a judge, the other a barrister - for one I bought a third ticket - because you are only allowed to buy two... and only three days in advance - really: you have to be very pernickety to read and understand the very difficult order-management for the Berlinale! (Make things rare, and people will buy).
Thank God it didn't rain. Nor snow.
Should not complain: I even managed to get those two tickets (not taken for grantedness - often tickets are sold-out after 10 minutes!)
For one evening George Clooney is announced - well: you could serve him on a silver platter to me, with a little ribbon around him: I will never stand there again for two hours!Promised.

17 comments:

Yesterday I went to see Suffragette. It just opened here in Vienna. Upcoming are two films; one from Michael Moore which I think is called Who Shall We Invade Next, and a docu. about people who have stuff go wrong inside their heads allegedly from their mobile phone signals.

Hot bath after standing for hours in cold. Just the job. Today went warm water swimming, trying to get rid of various aches and pains. Seems to have done the trick. You will see the Michael Moore film before it opens here I think.

I have reached an age where I refuse to stand in line for more than a few minutes. It does not matter how much I wish to see a play or movie I am not going to inflict that much discomfort on myself. I even order my groceries online and they are paid for and ready to pick up when I get to the store.

It wasn't quite voluntary, my standing there :-) On the other hand: I often leave my 'comfort zone' to do something interesting (only: at the moment I see already many movies, thanks to my birthday-subscription-gift).

My reply is rather imperious, isn't it? I'm sorry. I simply meant to say that I have chosen to avoid the long lines. I often feel like they are designed to "put me in my place". I know that you were being kind to a friend. You should have been commended rather than preached to.

I thought your reply utterly alright, Emma! I admire people who know what they want (or don't), and stick to it. In our family we have a saying (by Benjamin Franklin): "This little pipe is too expensive" - meaning that some things one wants are not worth a huge amount of effort.

"Ich bin ein Berliner!" - no, I'm not, still proud of my Hanseatic home city Bremen. If I see an actor on a red carpet by chance: good - but I would never wait for them (exception: I met Roger Moore, and there exists a little TV-interview with him and Yours Truly).

Thank you - I was faltering too...especially the last quarter of the second hour. But I learn: next time a) I know what will await me, and b) I will say 'no'. (I can do that). And I have the feeling that I thawed up - the bath & bed helped too.

Well, I hope to become a friend, Geo., at the moment I am still an acquaintance - and there, in the beginning of a friendship, it is especially important to be reliable (come to think of it: it always is). Today I am fine - but when I heard that for one movie the 2000 places in the Friedrichspalast are not numbered (so you have to arrive at least 45 minutes in advance!) I said to her: "You go in - I'll follow later and take a minor good place somewhere - it doesn't matter - I will not stand another long time in the cold."